“Your kidneys and circulatory system depend on each other for good health. The kidneys help filter wastes and extra fluids from blood, using a lot of blood vessels. When the blood vessels become damaged, the nephrons that filter your blood don’t receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to function well. This is why high blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure.”
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls as your heart pumps out blood. High blood pressure NIH external link, also called hypertension, is an increase in the amount of force that blood places on blood vessels as it moves through the body.
What are the kidneys and what do they do?
Healthy kidneys filter about a half cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from each kidney to the bladder through a pair of thin tubes called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. Your bladder stores urine. Your kidneys, ureters, and bladder are part of your urinary tract system.
How does high blood pressure affect the kidneys?
High blood pressure can constrict and narrow the blood vessels, which eventually damages and weakens them throughout the body, including in the kidneys. The narrowing reduces blood flow.
If your kidneys’ blood vessels are damaged, they may no longer work properly. When this happens, the kidneys are not able to remove all wastes and extra fluid from your body. Extra fluid in the blood vessels can raise your blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle, and cause more damage leading to kidney failure.
How common are high blood pressure and kidney disease?
Almost 1 in 2 U.S. adults—or about 108 million people—have high blood pressure.1
More than 1 in 7 U.S. adults—or about 37 million people—may have chronic kidney disease (CKD).
High blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the United States after diabetes, as illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Causes of kidney failure in the United States
Who is more likely to have high blood pressure or kidney disease?
High blood pressure
You are more likely to have high blood pressure if you
are older. Blood pressures tends to increase with age. Our blood vessels naturally thicken and stiffen over time.
have family members with high blood pressure. High blood pressure tends to run in families.
have unhealthy lifestyle habits. Unhealthy habits such as eating too much sodium (salt), drinking too many alcoholic beverages, or not being physically active can increase your risk of high blood pressure.
are African American. High blood pressure is more common in African American adults than in Caucasian, Hispanic, or Asian adults.
are male. Men are more likely to develop high blood pressure before age 55; women are more likely to develop it after age 55.
Kidney disease
In addition to high blood pressure, other factors that increase your risk of kidney disease are
diabetes
a family history of kidney failure
race or ethnicity—African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians tend to have a greater risk for CKD
High blood pressure can be both a cause and a result of kidney disease.
What are the symptoms of high blood pressure and kidney disease?
Most people with high blood pressure do not have symptoms. In rare cases, high blood pressure can cause headaches.
Early CKD also may not have symptoms. As kidney disease gets worse, some people may have swelling, called edema. Edema happens when the kidneys cannot get rid of extra fluid and salt. Edema can occur in the legs, feet, ankles, or—less often—in the hands or face.
Symptoms of advanced kidney disease can include
loss of appetite, nausea, or vomiting
drowsiness, feeling tired, or sleep problems
headaches or trouble concentrating
increased or decreased urination
generalized itching or numbness, dry skin, or darkened skin
weight loss
muscle cramps
chest pain or shortness of breath
How do health care professionals diagnose high blood pressure and kidney disease?
High blood pressure
Blood pressure test results are written with the two numbers separated by a slash. The top number is called the systolic pressure and represents the pressure as the heart beats and pushes blood through the blood vessels. The bottom number is called the diastolic pressure and represents the pressure as blood vessels relax between heartbeats.
Your health care professional will diagnose you with high blood pressure if your blood pressure readings are consistently higher than 130/80 when tested repeatedly in a health care office.
Health care professionals measure blood pressure NIH external link with a blood pressure cuff. You can also buy a blood pressure cuff to monitor your blood pressure at home.
Health care professionals measure blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff.
Kidney disease
To check for kidney disease, health care professionals use
a blood test that checks how well your kidneys are filtering your blood, called GFR, which stands for glomerular filtration rate.
a urine test to check for albumin. Albumin is a protein that can pass into the urine when the kidneys are damaged.
If you have kidney disease, your health care professional will use the same two tests to monitor your kidney disease.
How can I prevent or slow the progression of kidney disease from high blood pressure?
The best way to slow or prevent kidney disease from high blood pressure is to take steps to lower your blood pressure. These steps include a combination of medicines and lifestyle changes, such as
being physically active
maintaining a healthy weight
quitting smoking
managing stress
following a healthy diet, including less sodium (salt) intake
No matter what the cause of your kidney disease, high blood pressure can make your kidneys worse. If you have kidney disease, you should talk with your health care professional about your individual blood pressure goals and how often you should have your blood pressure checked.
Medicines
Medicines that lower blood pressure can also significantly slow the progression of kidney disease. Two types of blood pressure-lowering medications, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), may be effective in slowing the progression of kidney disease.
Many people require two or more medications to control their blood pressure. In addition to an ACE inhibitor or an ARB, a health care professional may prescribe a diuretic—a medication that helps the kidneys remove fluid from the blood—or other blood pressure medications NIH external link.
Physical activity
Regular physical activity can lower your blood pressure and reduce your chances of other health problems.
Aim for at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. These activities make your heart beat faster and may cause you to breathe harder. Start by trying to be active for at least 10 minutes at a time without breaks. You can count each 10-minute segment of activity toward your physical activity goal. Aerobic activities include
biking (Don’t forget the helmet.)
swimming
brisk walking
wheeling yourself in a wheelchair or engaging in activities that will support you such as chair aerobics
Biking is one type of moderate-intensity exercise that can help lower your blood pressure and weight.
If you have concerns, a health care professional can provide information about how much and what kinds of activity are safe for you.
Body weight
If you are overweight or have obesity, aim to reduce your weight by 7 to 10 percent during the first year of treatment for high blood pressure. This amount of weight loss can lower your chance of developing health problems related to high blood pressure.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is the tool most commonly used to estimate and screen for overweight and obesity in adults. BMI is a measure based on your weight in relation to your height. Your BMI can tell if you are at a normal or healthy weight, are overweight, or have obesity.
Normal or healthy weight. A person with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is in the normal or healthy range.
Overweight. A person with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight.
Obesity. A person with a BMI of 30 to 39.9 is considered to have obesity.
Extreme obesity. A person with a BMI of 40 or greater is considered to have extreme obesity.
Your goal should be a BMI lower than 25 to help keep your blood pressure under control.3
Smoking
If you smoke, you should quit. Smoking can damage blood vessels, raise the chance of developing high blood pressure, and worsen health problems related to high blood pressure.
If you have high blood pressure, talk with your health care professional about programs and products to help you quit smoking.
Stress
Learning how to manage stress, relax, and cope with problems can improve your emotional and physical health. Some activities that may help you reduce stress include
being physically active
practicing yoga NIH external link or tai chi NIH external link
listening to music
focusing on something calm or peaceful
meditating NIH external link
Physical activity can reduce stress and lower blood pressure.
How does eating, diet, and nutrition affect high blood pressure and kidney disease?
Following a healthy eating plan can help lower your blood pressure. Reducing the amount of sodium in your diet is an important part of any healthy eating plan. Your health care professional may recommend the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan NIH external link. DASH focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other foods that are healthy for your heart and lower in sodium, which often comes from salt. The DASH eating plan
is low in fat and cholesterol
features fat-free or low-fat milk and dairy products, fish, poultry, and nuts
suggests less red meat, sweets, added sugars, and sugar-containing beverages
is rich in nutrients, protein, and fiber
A healthy eating plan includes a variety of healthy, nutritious foods.
A registered dietitian can help tailor your diet to your kidney disease. If you have congestive heart failure or edema, a diet low in sodium intake can help reduce edema and lower blood pressure. Reducing saturated fat and cholesterol can help control high levels of lipids, or fats, in the blood.
People with advanced kidney disease should speak with their health care professional about their diet.
What should I avoid eating if I have high blood pressure or kidney disease?
If you have kidney disease, avoid foods and beverages that are high in sodium NIH external link.
Additional steps you can take to meet your blood pressure goals may include eating heart-healthy and low-sodium meals, quitting smoking, being active, getting enough sleep, and taking your medicines as prescribed. You should also limit alcoholic drinks—no more than two per day for men and one per day for women—because consuming too many alcoholic beverages raises blood pressure.
In addition, a health care professional may recommend that you eat moderate or reduced amounts of protein.
Proteins break down into waste products that the kidneys filter from the blood. Eating more protein than your body needs may burden your kidneys and cause kidney function to decline faster. However, eating too little protein may lead to malnutrition, a condition that occurs when the body does not get enough nutrients.
If you have kidney disease and are on a restricted protein diet, a health care professional will use blood tests to monitor your nutrient levels.
“There’s no cure, so the goal of treatment is to ease your symptoms and slow the disease. Your doctor will also want to prevent or treat any complications and improve your overall quality of life.
One of the best things you can do to stop your COPD from getting worse is to stop smoking. Talk to your doctor about different things you can try.”
“To diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, your doctor will evaluate your symptoms, ask for your complete health history, conduct a health exam and examine test results. The pt is tested through spirometry. Spirometry is a simple test of how well your lungs work. For this test, you blow air into a mouthpiece and tubing attached to a small machine. The machine measures the amount of air you blow out and how fast you can blow it. Also a chest X-ray and/or other tests, such as an arterial blood gas test, which measures the oxygen level in your blood. When you are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, you likely will have many questions and the answers may not always be clear at first. Not all people with COPD have the same symptoms and treatment may differ from person to person. It is important to talk to your doctor about your treatment options and to get answers to all of your questions.”
American Lung Association (https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/treating)
“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by poorly reversible airflow obstruction and an abnormal inflammatory response in the lungs. The latter represents the innate and adaptive immune responses to long term exposure to noxious particles and gases, particularly cigarette smoke. People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions especially if its due to smoking. Inflammation is present in the lungs, particularly the small airways, of all people who smoke. This normal protective response to the inhaled toxins is amplified in COPD, leading to tissue destruction, impairment of the defence mechanisms that limit such destruction, and disruption of the repair mechanisms. In general, the inflammatory and structural changes in the airways increase with disease severity and persist even after smoking cessation.”
“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing. It’s typically caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoke. People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two most common conditions that contribute to COPD. These two conditions usually occur together and can vary in severity among individuals with COPD.
Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from the air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs. It’s characterized by daily cough and mucus (sputum) production.
Emphysema is a condition in which the alveoli at the end of the smallest air passages (bronchioles) of the lungs are destroyed as a result of damaging exposure to cigarette smoke and other irritating gases and particulate matter.
Although COPD is a progressive disease that gets worse over time, COPD is treatable.”
“Regarding newly diagnosed diabetics 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with DM this year. $237 billion is spent each year on direct medical costs and another $90 billion on reduced productivity. Some people can manage it with healthy eating and exercise, or with oral medications, while others may also need to use insulin. Sometimes one medication will be enough, but in other cases, your doctor may prescribe a combination of medications. It’s common for your medication needs to change over time. And that’s a good thing. The most important thing is to get to feeling your best.”
American Diabetes Association (https://diabetes.org/)
“Research shows that people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia later in life.
Scientists think there are a few ways that problems with blood sugar control can lead to problems with your memory and thinking.
Insulin Resistance-When your cells don’t use insulin the way they should, that affects the mechanics of your brain.
1-Your cells don’t get the fuel they need, so your brain can’t work right.
2-Your blood sugar goes up, and over time, that can cause harmful fatty deposits in your blood vessels.
3-Too much insulin can throw off the balance of chemicals in your brain.
These effects on the brain are so strong that some scientists feel that Alzheimer’s related to insulin resistance should be called “type 3 diabetes.”
If You Have Diabetes, Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Increases Dramatically
Diabetes is linked to a 65 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s, which may be due, in part, because insulin resistance and/or diabetes appear to accelerate the development of plaque in your brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Separate research has found that impaired insulin response was associated with a 30 percent higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and overall dementia and cognitive risks were associated with high fasting serum insulin, insulin resistance, impaired insulin secretion and glucose intolerance.
A drop in insulin production in your brain may contribute to the degeneration of your brain cells, mainly by depriving them of glucose, and studies have found that people with lower levels of insulin and insulin receptors in their brain often have Alzheimer’s disease (people with type 2 diabetes often wind up with low levels of insulin in their brains as well). As explained in New Scientist, which highlighted this latest research:
What’s more, it encourages the process through which neurons change shape, make new connections and strengthen others. And it is important for the function and growth of blood vessels, which supply the brain with oxygen and glucose.
As a result, reducing the level of insulin in the brain can immediately impair cognition. Spatial memory, in particular, seems to suffer when you block insulin uptake in the hippocampus… Conversely, a boost of insulin seems to improve its functioning.
When people frequently gorge on fatty, sugary food, their insulin spikes repeatedly until it sticks at a high level. Muscle, liver and fat cells then stop responding to the hormone, meaning they don’t mop up glucose and fat in the blood. As a result, the pancreas desperately works overtime to make more insulin to control the glucose – and levels of the two molecules skyrocket.
The pancreas can’t keep up with the demand indefinitely, however, and as time passes people with type 2 diabetes often end up with abnormally low levels of insulin.”
Alzheimer’s Might be “Brain Diabetes”
BBA – Molecular Basis of Disease, Accepted manuscript. doi:10.1016/j.bbadis.2016.04.017
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the same pathological process that leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes may also hold true for your brain. As you over-indulge on sugar and grains, your brain becomes overwhelmed by the consistently high levels of insulin and eventually shuts down its insulin signaling, leading to impairments in your thinking and memory abilities, and eventually causing permanent brain damage.
Regularly consuming more than 25 grams of fructose per day will dramatically increase your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Consuming too much fructose will inevitably wreak havoc on your body’s ability to regulate proper insulin levels.
Although fructose is relatively “low glycemic” on the front end, it reduces the affinity for insulin for its receptor leading to chronic insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar on the back end. So, while you may not notice a steep increase in blood sugar immediately following fructose consumption, it is likely changing your entire endocrine system’s ability to function properly behind the scenes.
Additionally, fructose has other modes of neurotoxicity, including causing damage to the circulatory system upon which the health of your nervous system depends, as well as profoundly changing your brain’s craving mechanism, often resulting in excessive hunger and subsequent consumption of additional empty carbohydrate-based calories.
In one study from UCLA, researchers found that rats fed a fructose-rich and omega-3 fat deficient diet (similar to what is consumed by many Americans) developed both insulin resistance and impaired brain function in just six weeks.
Plus, when your liver is busy processing fructose (which your liver turns into fat), it severely hampers its ability to make cholesterol , an essential building block of your brain crucial to its health. This is yet another important facet that explains how and why excessive fructose consumption is so detrimental to your health. Decreasing fructose intake is one of the most important moves you can take in decreasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in your lifetime.
“It’s important to keep your blood sugar levels in your target range as much as possible to help prevent or delay long-term, serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. Staying in your target range of blood glucose (Before a meal glucose in the blood should range the following: 80 to 130 mg/dL. Two hours after the start of a meal: Less than 180 mg/dL.). Keeping the glucose in therapeutic range can also help improve your energy and mood.”
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Find answers to common questions about blood sugar for people with diabetes
